Given that it goes out weekly at 1.35am as part of Radio 5 Live's esteemed Up All Night schedules, and is a pretty serious science programme, I can't claim to be a regular listener of Breaking Science, presented by Chris Smith. But as a podcast, it's a sprightly treat, heading off into at least a handful of convoluted science stories at pace, and ripping gaily through talk of chromosomes, molecules and caterpillars impersonating ants.

That last tale was the best on this week's show. A particularly cheeky species of caterpillar pretends to be a queen ant and takes up residence in the plushest corners of ants' nests. The ants, normally so clever, are fooled, and turn into exceptionally generous hosts. "They'll kill their own ant grubs," we heard, "and feed them to the intruders."

Smith then played us a recording of a real queen ant (a quick, scratchy, burpy sound) and then a naughty impostor caterpillar (less scratchy, more burpy). As if realising that some of his audience might not be scientific whizz kids, Smith threw in a jokey, accessible line, noting that the original queen ant was "certainly an improvement on James Blunt". So too, it has to be said, was the caterpillar.